Pelicans second-year shooting guard Darius Miller will be out 8-12 weeks, after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot. Per the team’s press release: “Team doctors discovered the injury after Miller experienced discomfort recently. Dr. Richard Ferkel of Southern California Orthopedic Institute surgically repaired the stress fracture. Miller will return to New Orleans on September 10, 2013 to begin the rehabilitation process. He is expected to miss 8-12 weeks.”

The New Orleans Hornets have signed second-round draft pick Darius Miller. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but Miller, the 2012 SEC Sixth-Man of the Year, could end up paying dividends if he improves offensively. The 6-8 forward averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season, playing an integral role in Kentucky’s National Championship run.

As it has done all year, Kentucky’s defense set the tone of the game. The Wildcats blocked 11 shots and held Kansas to 35.5 percent shooting from the field.

Keying that defensive effort was freshman center Anthony Davis, who was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Davis had just six points but also added 16 rebounds, six blocks and three steals.

The championship was Kentucky’s eighth but head coach John Calipari’s first. Afterwards, he didn’t want to dwell on his own accomplishment.

From Kentucky.com:

“This is not about me,” Calipari told a national television audience upon accepting the championship trophy with his team in the Superdome. “This is about these 13 players. This is about the Big Blue Nation. I don’t know of any team that has sacrificed for each other like this team, and they deserve this moment. They really do.”

While Davis led the way, the Wildcats got major contributions all year from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones and Darius Miller. Kentucky finished the season 38-2. It was the least number of losses for a champion since Connecticut won with two losses in 1999.

Using a stifling defensive effort, No. 1 Kentucky breezed past Georgia 57-44 to improve to 20-1 on the season. Kentucky has now won 12 straight after its loss to Indiana on Dec. 10.

The Wildcats kept Georgia out of an offensive rhythm all night. The Bulldogs shot 34.5 percent from the field and were outrebounded 39-18. When you add in that Georgia went to the free throw line just three times, it was a truly dismal performance for the Bulldogs.

While Kentucky didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard either, Darius Miller came off the bench to be one of the few productive players with the ball all night. Miller went 7-for-8 from the field and finished with 19 points.

Although he doesn’t start, Miller can be the team’s most important player on some nights for the Wildcats.

From The Courier-Journal:

“I know there’s times when I’m going to have to step up,” Miller said. “All the guys feel the same way. If you go and look back, it’s been different guys every game. … We’re all happy with that. The guys did a good job looking for me when they knew I was hitting.

“We have so many weapons, we feel like any guy could go off any day.”

Kentucky has gained the respect of the voters, but its dominance is still going somewhat unnoticed. Its only loss was by one-point and all but five of their games have been double-digit victories. If Christian Watford’s three-pointer doesn’t go in at the buzzer for Indiana, the Wildcats are undefeated right now.